on Friday, March 1, began removing the apps of 10 Indian companies over non-payment of service fees. The app removal followed a blog posted by Google earlier in the day, where it said that 10 companies in the country, some of them “very established”, had not paid fees even though they used the platform. Google did not disclose the names of the companies, but matrimonial apps.
“For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play's right to charge,” the company said on Friday, adding that the SC also “refused to interfere” with its right to do so.
However, reports suggest that Info Edge's flagship apps Naukri.com and 99acres were delisted by Google, in addition to BharatMatrimony, and Shaadi.com. Other apps that have been taken down include online dating apps
Truly Madly
and QuackQuack, vernacular video-streaming platform Stage, Balaji Telefilms’ Altt, and audio streaming and podcast app Kuku FM.
The issue was about Google charging a fee of 11 per cent to 26 per cent on in-app payments, after the CCI, an anti-competition body, ordered to end the previous system of charging 15 per cent to 30 per cent.
What is the dispute over
The dispute is over Google imposing a fee of 11 per cent to 26 per cent on in-app payments after anti-competition body CCI ordered scrapping of an earlier system of charging 15 per cent to 30 per cent. Google went ahead to remove the apps not paying the fee after the Supreme Court did not provide interim relief to companies behind these apps in their battle against the search giant's platform fees.
Google says gave 3 years to the companies to prepare
"After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court's order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally," Google said.
What Desi app developers said
Info Edge founder
Sanjeev Bikhchandani
claimed the company had paid all the pending Google invoices on time and followed its policies. He said in a post on X, tagging Commerce and Industry Minister
Piyush Goyal
and his office, “Indian companies will comply - for now. But what India needs is an App Store/ Play Store that is a part of Digital Public Infrastructure - like UPI and ONDC. The response needs to be strategic.” Bharat Matrimony founder
Murugavel Janakiraman
described the move as "dark day" for the Internet in India.
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